Gender Trouble

Male prof: Emma is a phenomenal student! So professional, well-organized, and dedicated! She works extremely hard, never misses class, always does the readings. . .

Female prof: What are you talking about? Emma is extremely disrespectful and lazy. She has an attitude from here to the Moon, misses most classes, never hands in the homework. Bill, on the other hand, is an amazing student. He works extremely hard, never misses class, always does the readings. . .

Male prof:  What are you talking about? Bill is extremely disrespectful and lazy. He has an attitude from here to the Moon, misses most classes, never hands in the homework. If you want to see a great student, take Natalia. She is fantastic! Bright, engaged,

Female prof: What?!? Natalia is horrible! She hates my courses and never pays attention to what I say. John, however, is fantastic.

Male prof: What?!? John is the worst. He hates my courses and never pays attention to what I say.

This is how we discovered that whether students like us has a lot less to do with how well we teach and a lot more to do with something quite different.